it's online! don't be jealous; watch the talks.
I've experienced this many times while living outside of the US, in recent years. All of the people you'll read about in blogs, or see in videos -- they're perceived like movie stars or legends that must have been greatly distorted on their journey to the opposite end of the world. Keep in mind that many small countries have never seen a single big tech-startup success happen within their borders. Even suggesting a remote possibility of successes, will be met with the argument that every successful person they've ever known hasn't followed what they call the "American" startup way.
In-person role models -- can't underestimate the psychological impact.
That sounds more like a difference caused by economic and cultural circumstances than whether you've met a rockstar in person.
If Country X is unable to produce viable startups, it's probably because it doesn't have the economic and cultural infrastructure to support startups yet, not because Peter Thiel has never graced that country with a royal visit.
> every successful person they've ever known hasn't followed what they call the "American" startup way.
Of course they haven't. The "American startup way" is optimized for the specific economic and cultural circumstances that are only found in certain parts of the United States. Some aspects of it may be generalizable, but most of it isn't. Following it to the letter in any other country will probably earn you nothing but ridicule and bankruptcy.
One of the perceived privileges of the elite is their very access to opportunity, and being there is to provide that access.
Not being there is to observe the access, which is the addition of transparency that never existed before, but fundamentally the access hasn't been granted.
If you're already in a tough place without access to these kinds of opportunity, this is just going to underline and bold that some more.
I say bugger that for a game of soldiers. No, you don't have to meet one of the 'legends' before you can succeed. That sort of thinking is false, poisonous and destructive. In almost all cases, the first step on the road to success is understanding that life is not a zero-sum game.
I could expand this sentiment to every teacher or lecturer who has chosen to put their video online, especially the great ones. They have done a great service to the world (probably beyond what they may themselves realize).
I recently met an undergrad student in India who considered Steve Huffman to be his guru (he was a fan of his Udacity course, and so am I, btw) and swears by everything Steve taught him. And, Steve probably does not even know that he has a fan following in a small town in India :)